Illuminated scoring device



J 1953 w. A. WILHELM- ETAL 2,641,857

ILLUMINATED SCORING DEVICE Filed May 12, 1950 FIG. 2.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O l L l] FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. f}, 650/1. ,4. PEOEESEN,

WALBK'IEE 4. [MIL HEL/W, 2

w Kim/M024 ATTOE/VEYS.

Patented June 16, 1953 ILLUMINATED SCORING DEVICE Walter A. Wilhelm and Cecil A. Pedersen, Salina,

Kans.; Pearl E, Wilhelm and Richard J. Wilhelm, administrators of said Walter A.

helm, deceased Wil- Application May 12, 1950, SerialNo. 161,496

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an illuminated exhibitor, and more particularly to a manually actuable illuminated scoring device.

An object of this invention is to provide .an illuminated exhibitor which is particularly adapted for use as a scoring device in conjunction with the game of pool.

Another object of this invention is to provide an illuminated scoring device for recording the score during a game of pool and from which the individual scoring runs of the players are readily ascertainable.

A further object of this invention is to provide an illuminated scoring device which is simple'in structure and cheap to manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon consulting the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the illuminated scoring device of the present invention, with parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure l, with parts broken away and in section;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals have been used throughout the several views'to designate like parts, there is shown the illuminated scoring device of the present invention, generally designated by the numeral In, which includes a base 1 l I, a light-emitting source-containing housing 12 having a'plurality of spaced openings in the front thereof fixedly secured to the base II, a display board l3 carrying spaced indicia thereon in alignment with the openings in the housing [2 and supported on the base H for visually displaying said indicia, and a plurality of manually actuable, sliding doors 14 supported within the display board'la for selectively illuminating certain ones of said numerical indicia.

The base H comprises a pair of vertically disposed side walls 23, 2| arranged in spaced confronting relation with respect to each other and having their lower ends adapted to be positioned upon a supporting surface. Extending between the side walls 2G, 2! and fixedly secured on the upper ends thereof is a top wall 22 having its front edge positioned intermediate the front and rear edges of the side walls 20, 2|.

Arranged longitudinally of the base H and resting upon the top wall 22 thereof is the housing l2 having its front disposed in substantial alignment with the front edge of the top wall 22, The housing I2 is fixedly positioned on the top wall 22 of the base by means of a nut-and-bolt assembly, designated by the numeral 24, extending through the bottom of the housing and the top wall 22 of the base ll. Positioned within the housing I2 is a light-emitting source illustrated as a fluorescent tube 23, the tube having a connection cord 25 which is adapted to be connected to an external source of electrical energy, not shown. The front wall of the housing [2 is provided with a plurality of rectangular apertures, generally designated by the numeral 2'6, the apertures being disposed in side-by-side, spaced re lation with respect to each other.

Fixedly positioned in abutting relation with respect to the front wall'of the light housing I2 is the vertically disposed display board !3, the board having its lower end resting upon the side walls 20, 2| and secured thereto. The board It is provided with a plurality of circular apertures, generally designated by the numeral 21, disposed in spaced relation longitudinally thereof, the respective circular apertures 27 of the display board [3 being disposed in aligned relation with respect to the respective rectangular apertures 25 of the housing l2. Each of the circular apertures 21 has secured thereto a transparent plate l5 for visually displaying numerical indicia inscribed thereon. As clearly illustrated in Figure 1, the plates 55 associated with the successive apertures 2! are provided with numbers ranging from 1 to 50 to thereby facilitate the ready display of all intermediate scores in the game of pool in which the winning score is usually 50 for either of the players. Intermediate each of the glass plates l5 and the adjacent, aligned aperture of the housing t2, the display board I 3'is provided with a plurality of vertically extending slideways, generally designated by the numeral 28', each of the slideways extending upwardly from the lower supported edge of the display board l3 and terminating in the bounding wall of the adjacent one of the apertures 2T. Slidably received and supported within each .of the .slideways 28 is one of the doors M which can be slid into and out of bridging relation with respect to the adjacent circular aperture 2] to thereby selectively block oil the light source from the associated one of the transparent plates l5.

Each of the sliding doors I4 is provided with a resilient means, illustrated as the leaf spring 29, for normally maintaining the door in bridging relation with the associated one of the apertures 27. As clearly shown in Figure 3, the leaf spring 29 has one end fixedly secured within the housing l2 and has the other end bearing against the adjacent face of the door M to thereby urge the opposed face thereof into engagement with the bounding wall of the channelway 28 contiguous thereto.

Operatively connected to each of the sliding doors is a manually actuable operating means, generally designated by the numeral 30, for selectively sliding each of said doors out of bridging relation with respect to the associated one of the circular apertures. Since each of the operating means is of like structure, only one will be described in detail.

Referring with particularity to Figure 3, the operating means 30 is illustrated, as a lever 3| having one end arranged within the base [I beneath the top wall thereof and pivotally supported thereon, as illustrated at 32. The other end of the lever 3| extends forwardly of the base II and terminates at a point adjacent to and spaced from the front edges of the side walls 20, 2| of the base Disposed within the channelway 28 intermediate the bottom of the door l4 supported therein and the lever 3| adjacent thereto is a connecting link 33. The link 33 has one end connected to the lower end of the door l4 and has the other end connected to the lever 3| intermediate the ends thereof. Disposed transversely of the free end of the lever 3| and fixedly secured thereto is an arcuate saddle member 34. Dependingly supported from the saddle member 34 is a skirt 35 having numerical indicia thereon corresponding to the indicia on the associated one of the plates I5. From the foregoing, it is apparent that the lever 3| may be urged downwardly from a horizontal position to an inclined depressed position, shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3, by applying a force to the saddle member 34. Accordingly, the associated door I4 is urged out of bridging and blocking relation with the associated one of the plates l5.

Extending between the side walls 20, 2| of the base is a front wall 36 which is provided with a plurality of vertically extending slots 31 disposed in side-by-side, spaced relation with respect to each other for the extension therethrough of the individual levers 3| of the operating means 30. Accordingly, the pivotally connected ends of the lever and the connecting links 33 associated therewith are hidden to enhance the appearance of the scoring device.

Extending between the side walls 20, 2| of the base H and rotatably supported therein is the scoring means illustrated as the crank 38 which may be manually operated exteriorly of the base The crank 38 includes an elongated, horizontally disposed bight 39 positioned beneath the levers 3| of the operating means 30. Upon rotating the crank 38, the bight thereof is brought into engagement with the levers 3| to thereby urge any of the levers in the inclined depressed position back into the horizontal position. Accordingly, the respective doors l4 may be brought back into their position of bridging and blocking relation with the adjacent one of the apertures 21.

Each of the skirts 35 is provided with an arcuate indentation, generally designated by the numeral 45, extending upwardly from the lower free end thereof. Accordingly, if the player depresses one of the levers 3| by mistake, said lever may be restored to its horizontal position by applying an upwardly directed force to said lever by means of a pool cue or the like. In this man ner, the mistake may be corrected without restoring the properly depressed levers to their horizontal position.

In use, the score during the game of pool can be readily and conveniently displayed. To ascertain the individual scoring runs, it is merely necessary to visually observe the number and the spacing of the illuminated ones of the plates |5.

It is readily apparent that numerous modifications of the scoring device of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in-the appended claim.

What we claim is:

In an illuminated scoring device, a base, a housing having a plurality of spaced apertures in the front wall thereof positioned on said base and secured thereto, a light-emitting source mounted in said housing, a display board disposed in abutting relation with respect to the front wall of said housing and supported on said base, said board being provided with a plurality of transparent indicia arranged in spaced relation therealong, said indicia being positioned in alignment with the apertures in said housing, a door positioned intermediate each of the openings and the adjacent aligned indicia and mounted in said board for movement into and out of closing relation with respect to said aperture, a horizontally extending lever positioned below each of said doors and having one end mounted on said base for movement from a horizontal position to a downwardly inclined depressed position, the other end of said lever extending exteriorly of said base, link means positioned below each of said doors and having one end secured to the bottom of said door and having the other end secured to the adjacent lever, manually actuable means operatively connected to the exteriorly extending end of the lever for effecting the movement of the latter, and restoring means rotatably supported on said base beneath said levers and engageable intermediate its ends with the depressed ones of said levers for restoring the same to said horizontal position.

WALTER. A. WILHELM. CECIL A. PEDERSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 451,860 Hatfield May 5, 1891 606,377 Cole June 28, 1898 764,333 Baker July 5, 1904 808,884 Thomas et a1 Jan. 2, 1906 1,605,833 Gee Nov. 2, 1926 2,512,197 Cusano June 20, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 503,242 Great Britain Apr. 4, 1939 

